Courts rule government’s pension switch lawful

Visa reports fall in Christmas spending

Payments business Visa has reported a 2.3 per cent fall in spending on credit and debit cards over the four weeks to 27 November, compared with the same period in 2010. Last week, which is traditionally one of the UK’s biggest Christmas shopping weeks, spending on cards fell both on the High Street and online, [...]

Lloyds backs down on ATM restrictions

Following pressure from the Treasury Select Committee, people who hold basic bank accounts at Lloyds TSB will have access to thousands more cash machines from next year. Basic bank account holders are people who are not eligible to open a standard bank account because they have a poor credit score. In 2006 Lloyds TSB decided [...]

UK carers struggling to make ends meet

Around half of the 6.4 million unpaid carers in the UK are suffering ill-health because of money worries according to Carers UK. A survey of 4250 unpaid carers found that 40 per cent of respondents had fallen into debt because of their caring responsibilities, and 86 per cent of carers in debt suffered mental health [...]

Courts rule government’s pension switch lawful

The High Court has decided that the government’s decision to use the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) to inflation-proof public sector pensions, rather than the traditionally-used Retail Prices Index (RPI), was lawful. The legal challenge to the change, which came into force in April, was launched by Trade unions who claimed that the change was made [...]

Housing Market to improve in 2013

The housing market is expected to improve strongly in 2013-14, with a 20 per cent increase in transactions, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) said yesterday. An upward trend is expected to start developing in 2012-13, when 1.5 per growth is expected, according to the OBR’s forecasts which accompanied the chancellor’s Autumn Statement. Recent figures [...]

IFS lost for words over economy

The Independent Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has warned that the income of UK households is likely to fall 7.4 per cent in three years and Britons will be no better off in 2016 than they were in 2002. The comment followed analysis of the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement yesterday. The IFS expects household income, after [...]

Insurance costs unaffected by fitting winter tyres

The Association of British Insurers (ABI) today said that motorist should not be charged extra on their motor insurance for fitting winter tyres. The ABI’s members, which together account for around 90% of the motor insurance market, have confirmed that they will not expect motorists to pay additional premium if they fit winter tyres, provided [...]

Linking pensions to CPI costly for workers

Last year’s decision to tie public sector pensions to the consumer prices index (CPI) rather than the retail prices index (RPI) will result in pay-outs being reduced by over 17 per cent over 15 years, according to the TUC. In 2010 the government decided that pensions would rise in line with the CPI, which increases [...]

NS&I warns savers over changes to accounts

National Savings & Investments (NS&I) will write to holders of its Investment Account this month, warning them about major changes. From 21 May 2012 savers will no long be able to deposit or withdraw money from Investment Accounts at post offices with a passbook. The account is becoming postal-only and savers will receive postal statements, [...]

Mortgage repayments rise as consumers cut debt

New data from the Bank of England suggests that house owners are focusing on repaying their mortgages as part of their efforts to reduce debt. Consumers are concerned about the state of the economy and their incomes are under pressure from pay freezes, rising unemployment and high levels of inflation. These pressures, together with falling [...]